The Packers finally find the right pieces to revive the red zone offense

GREEN BAY – If only the scoreboard hadn’t gotten in the way. They were on fourth-and-3 midway through Thursday’s third quarter, 6 yards from the goal line, with the Green Bay Packers finding the end zone on nine straight red zone trips.

On a roll, they could have tried to extend their double-digit streak. Matt LaFleur looked at the scoreboard and conveyed no certainty. Not with a 21-point lead. Instead, he sent the Packers’ field goal unit onto the field.

“I just decided to go up 24 rather than take that risk,” LaFleur said. “Because now you’re forcing three possessions where Miami has to be perfect. They need to get three touchdowns and three 2-point conversions. So I thought that was probably the right call in that situation, basically, I mean, it’s still technically three possessions. But in my mind, we have to win one of these 2-point conversions, right?

“So in my mind it was more of a four-possession game.”

The fact that the Packers even came within range of scoring touchdowns on 10 straight trips to the red zone was a stark change from a season-long predicament. At the end of their bye week in mid-November, the Packers ranked 29th in the NFL in red zone touchdowns. They were better in Chicago, scoring touchdowns on three of their five trips inside the 20-yard line, including Jordan Love’s diving dive from the 1.

Love’s stealth started the streak. The Packers scored touchdowns on all five of their trips to the red zone in Sunday’s blowout win over the San Francisco 49ers. They finished their first three trips to the red zone with touchdowns against the Dolphins.

The Packers, who now enter Thursday’s game at Detroit ranked 18th in red zone efficiency, have managed to course-correct through a mix of execution and highlighting the right personnel for that zone of the ground. More than half of their touchdowns during that stretch came on 1-yard runs, four from Josh Jacobs. With one of the best running backs in the NFL, they left the bye week wanting to get back into running the game near the end zone. The result was an abrupt change. After Jacobs scored three touchdowns from the one-yard line against the 49ers, the Dolphins were determined to stop the run.

Jacobs still scored on a 1-yard run, running through cornerback Storm Duck’s unblocked tackle at the goal line.

“I like to pass the ball in the red zone,” right tackle Zach Tom said. “Obviously, Josh had a few touchdowns. I think the Dolphins were doing everything they could to stop the run by bringing in all these big people. So obviously that opens things up in the passing game. I would say our identity would definitely be handled first, but I’m not sure our identity has changed from what it was earlier in the year. Just stop having penalties at the end of the race.

There was never any panic in the Packers locker room as their offense plundered the bottom of the league in red zone efficiency. In their first 38 trips to the red zone this season, they received nine penalties. They still took penalties in three of their 10 trips to the red zone over the last 10 games, but the Packers took advantage of their opponents’ mistakes. The 49ers defense was penalized three times inside the red zone on Sunday, including for having 12 players on consecutive plays. On Thursday, Malik Washington’s muffed punt started a possession at the 3-yard line.

More importantly, the Packers are targeting the right players to complete practices. When defenses charge the box to stop Jacobs, Jayden Reed’s short-area quickness can create separation in tight spaces. Tucker Kraft’s power after the catch can gain yards.

Over the last two games, Reed has four catches for 37 yards and two touchdowns inside the red zone. Kraft had three catches for 36 yards and a touchdown.

“I think you always have to attack your plan,” LaFleur said, “and then you have to put your people in the right position to make the plays.”

It took the Packers offense a few months last season to find the right pieces. Two-thirds of the way through the 2024 season, it appears they have done the same. They’re starting to rely on more than just explosive plays from Love’s big right arm. The balance Jacobs provides is their identity. The game of Reed and Kraft.

If this continues, the Packers believe they can have an equally hot finish down the stretch.

“I still don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface of what we can actually be,” Reed said. “I still don’t think we’ve played the complete game we can play. We have a great offense here. We have a great coaching staff that can execute, get the ball in their players’ hands, get the ball where it’s supposed to go. They do a great job and we just execute it.